Cynthia and Kaim

A young man was busy cooking.

An Umbreon beside him took what the young man told it to get out of the refrigerator; just looking at that kind of communication showed their high level of trust.

"Hey, are you awake?"

The young man greeted the woman in a low voice.

"Good morning. Did you stay up late again?"

"I know your position is busy, but moderation is key. The biggest waste of time is letting your body collapse. If you want to work efficiently, get some proper rest."

Though his manner of speaking was blunt, one could tell from his words that he cared about the woman's health.

"Right, I'll do that. Thank you."

"Then go take a bath and sleep a little longer. You look exhausted."

"Am I really that exhausted?"

"Anyone would feel exhausted after staying up late. Go take a bath and sleep."

"...But I'll sleep after eating breakfast. I'm hungry."

"Is that so. Have it your way."

His speech was cold, but the young man's cooking movements were extremely meticulous and thorough. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was skilled.

"Then I'm going to take a bath."

"Alright, take your time, Cynthia."

"I understand, Kaim."

The woman Cynthia answered with a gentle smile to Kaim, the young man who was also her assistant.

"Phew, that really refreshes you."

After finishing her bath, Cynthia walked toward the kitchen with a slight blush on her face.

In the kitchen, Kaim sat with an Umbreon on his lap, playing with his phone. The Umbreon raised its head and sniffed Kaim's chin, but Kaim had no particular reaction, seemingly already used to it.

Seeing Cynthia's figure, Kaim put his phone into his pocket.

"Hey, done washing?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's fine. Bring that plate over."

"Got it."

She carried the plate with already dished-out food to the dining table. Today's menu was scrambled eggs, grilled fish, and salad, paired with white rice, green onions, and tofu miso soup-simple yet focused on nutritional balance.

"It looks delicious today, too."

"Thanks."

Kaim replied indifferently, but Cynthia could faintly see the corners of his mouth upturned in pleasure. She smiled gently, hoping Kaim didn't notice.

Kaim returned to his seat holding his rice and miso soup, and the two pressed their palms together.

"Let's eat."

The two of them picked up their chopsticks and began their meal.

At Kaim's feet, the Umbreon was enjoying Kaim's specially made pet food, and Cynthia looked at it with eyes full of affection.

"Is today's pet food also specially made by you?"

"Yeah. I adjusted the flavor a bit, and it looks like it really likes it."

Gazing at the Umbreon eating intently, Kaim smiled softly.

Cynthia made a suggestion to Kaim.

"Hey, could you give some to my little partners, too?"

"Though I don't know if my pet food suits their tastes, it's fine. I made plenty, so go ahead and feed them."

"Thank you."

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"After eating, I'm going to sleep a bit more. I seem a bit overworked."

Although she felt much better after the bath, her body still felt heavy. Fatigue was still best recovered through sleep.

"Then let's do that. Don't worry the Pokémon."

"...So this morning is complete rest. There's a little something to do in the afternoon, but it won't take much time either. There's only the last paper left to finish."

"Ah, you finished writing it?"

"Finally finished. Because there are a lot of things that need to be clarified, from hypotheses to conclusions, it took quite a bit of time, but thanks to that, a good piece of work came out."

Balancing the dual identities of Champion and archaeologist, being able to achieve results in both fields was inseparable from Cynthia's intelligence and, more importantly, her effort.

"I see. Good work."

"Kaim, what do you plan to do?"

"First I'm going to do the laundry. Then let the Pokémon move around freely for a bit, and go to the gym a little in the afternoon."

"You're going today, too?"

"After all, I am a Gym Trainer. Still, going all the way out to Tobalin City is quite a hassle."

"It's fine, isn't it? Aren't you quite good at flying while riding a Pokémon?"

"True."

Cynthia answered casually, continuing to eat intently. Watching Kaim agree while eating, she followed suit and ate as well.

However, men naturally ate faster, and Kaim finished eating a step ahead and stood up.

"Thanks. Just leave the dishes in the kitchen."

"Understood."

"Also, if you have clothes to wash-"

"I already put them in that basket."

"Is that so?"

Saying only that, Kaim left, with the Umbreon following behind him.

Though he spoke frankly and without much hesitation, the gentleness and consideration revealed in his words, as well as his caring nature, could not be concealed.

His expression rarely changed, but Cynthia knew that in front of Pokémon, he would show a tender expression. Within his social circle, very few people could witness him smiling with their own eyes.

"If he were just a bit more straightforward, he'd definitely be even more popular."

Cynthia thought this in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud.

"Alright, done."

After finishing hanging out the laundry, Kaim took a short break.

Nearby was the washed laundry blowing in the wind, along with a Lucario holding a laundry basket.

After gently petting the heads of both Pokémon, he sat on the porch and stretched lazily.

He tossed the Poké Ball on his belt, and Blaziken and Rufflet flew out from their balls.

"Do whatever you want."

With that, Blaziken and Lucario started practicing combat by punching each other.

Their strengths were evenly matched, and an offense-and-defense battle with give-and-take continued.

On the other side, Rufflet did nothing besides sitting next to Kaim, closing its eyes to feel the wind.

"You've gotten stronger."

Kaim muttered softly, looking at the two Pokémon.

Kaim originally came from the Hoenn Region, setting out on a journey with a Pokédex in his youth.

Later, having spent close to four and a half years to obtain all the Badges, he chose not to challenge the Pokémon League, instead choosing to travel around the Kalos Region for a time before entering Tamushi University to study.

As a young man on the path to becoming a Pokémon Master, Kaim had such a dream at first, but he himself didn't have much talent for raising Pokémon.

The friends who set out with him obtained most of the Badges in about two years, whereas Kaim spent more than twice that time to get all of them.

Part of this was because he used his time on things other than Badges and often took detours, but even if he had focused on Badges, it would have taken him at least three years.

By then, his Starter Pokémon Eevee and the Torchic given by his father had evolved into Umbreon and Blaziken.

Thus, he decided that "he wasn't suited for battles" and chose the path of studying Pokémon. His parents didn't oppose him going to university, and his academic grades were enough to pass the exams.

Then, he decided what to do there, and before he knew it, he ended up playing the role of a housekeeper in the Sinnoh Region.

"Has it been two years already?"

Two years had passed since Kaim came to the Sinnoh Region, and he seemed very accustomed to life here. A few years ago, he never imagined he would be in the Sinnoh Region, but that was how life was-you never knew what would happen.

Kaim raised his head and looked toward the room where Cynthia was sleeping.